Chief of Mampong, Osabarima Kwame Dartey III, has stated that the late Tetteh Quarshie, credited as the pioneer of cocoa farming in Ghana, hails from the Ga community in the Greater Accra region.
He refuted President Akufo-Addo’s assertion that Tetteh Quarshie originated from Mampong in the Eastern Region.
During his address at the 67th Independence Day Anniversary on March 6, 2024, President Akufo-Addo acknowledged Mampong’s role in the cocoa industry and credited Tetteh Quarshie with introducing cocoa to Ghana from Equatorial Guinea.
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He also mentioned that Tetteh Quarshie was from the Eastern Region.
“Indeed, Tetteh Quarshie, an indigene of Mampong Akuapem, here in the Eastern Region, brought back, in the late 19th century, the cocoa pod from Fernando Po, now Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea, an act which led him and others to establish our nation’s first commercial cocoa farms here in the Eastern Region,” the president said in his speech.
However, in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, Osabarima Dartey explained that while Mampong has its own historical significance, there is no credible evidence supporting the claim that Tetteh Quarshie was a native of that town.
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He clarified that Tetteh Quarshie may have resided in Mampong when he introduced cocoa to Ghana, but this does not make him a native of the town. Osabarima Dartey emphasized that historical records confirm Tetteh Quarshie’s Ga ethnicity, not Akuapem.
He urged Ghanaians to acknowledge this historical fact, as it is well-documented in history books.
